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OPINION

Lawmakers have turned their backs on teachers

Paige Havener
Published 12:04 a.m. ET Feb. 11, 2017

Carolyn Kaster, AP President-elect Donald Trump announces Nov. 19 that Betsy DeVos, a fellow billionaire who did not endorse him in the primaries, will take the role of Education secretary. FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Trump has chosen charter school advocate DeVos as Education Secretary in his administration. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) ORG XMIT: WX104(Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP)

Last Tuesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as our country's new secretary of Education. DeVos is wholly unqualified for the job.The decision has made me question our governmental system in ways even Donald Trump cannot match. This is an incredibly personal issue for me, simply because I am the child of the hardest-working public school teacher I have ever met: My mom.

Every morning, my mother wakes up, drinks her coffee and leaves our house at 6:30 a.m. to head in to school. Oftentimes she does not get home until 7 p.m. in the evening.

That time does not factor in the time she dedicates at night, on weekends, and during school holidays. During her summer breaks, my mom will attend training, get her classroom in order for the new year and start planning lessons. She must always be planning ahead for the next day, the next week, the next grading period.

My mom is also a special education teacher. Every lesson is tailored for each child she works with, and every child is provided with what he needs in order to make strides in learning.

She goes beyond the classroom too. My mother has bought some of her students essentials like winter coats, hats, gloves, shoes and socks. She has run an after-school math program and taught many summers, to help students who were struggling try to understand the rigorous curriculum. She has spent thousands of dollars of her own money on school supplies over the years, and does it selflessly.

In short, my mom is one of the hardest-working people I have ever known.

There are thousands of others just like her all over the United States. They work hard for your children.

And our GOP congressmen and women have turned their backs, closed their eyes and covered their ears to teachers, once again. They took the bribe, they followed the leader over the cliff, and have chosen a woman who has no experience with the public education system, who never attended a public school and whose kids and grandkids have never attended a public school. They betrayed their voters, they betrayed our teachers and they put money and power over the education of our nation's children. There is no excuse.

If your representative voted for her confirmation, I urge you to call their office every day, let them know how you feel. Even if your representative voted against her, I urge you to call. Speak up for the sake of teachers. Speak up for your children. Resist.